A Friend's Gift
by jessicalorewrites
Summary: The wind was blustery around him. Seconds fell into minutes; minutes beckoned more butterflies. (Platonic Luna/Neville)


**A Friend's Gift**

It was a stormy, overcast day when he first asked her on a date. It had taken the Battle of Hogwarts, his new found bravery and the encouraging words of his best friend to convince him to do it. And yet he'd still been a nervous wreck, barely capable of swallowing down breakfast the morning before he'd arranged to see her.

So really, it was quite the nice coincidence that on the day he would be shopping for her engagement ring, the clouds were carrying the weight of their woes in raindrops once more.

She didn't know about his plans for the day. Nobody did – except for his best friend. She should be along to help any minute.

Neville sat with his legs crossed at the ankles, reclining back on the sole bench within his eye line, waiting for said friend to join him. His hair had darkened from its usual blonde as the colder months approached, now a sandy brown that his girlfriend claimed to adore. He breathed out, and then in, out, in, trying to control his breathing as best he could for his stomach was full of swarming butterflies, clawing at his innards with means to escape.

He wished they would escape.

The wind was blustery around him. Seconds fell into minutes; minutes beckoned more butterflies.

He'd felt this way last week, when he'd visited his parents to tell them about what he was planning to do. They were unresponsive – as usual – but it always felt nice to just sit and talk to them. War had shown him that you could never take people for granted, even if they sometimes forgot who you were.

When he finally noticed the tiny figure of his friend, skipping down the path towards him, a smile lit up his face. If there was one thing he was glad for, it was that the bloodshed of recent years had not maimed her spirit in the slightest. She was still good and strong and as unusually eccentric as ever.

"Oh hello Neville," she smiled serenely when she arrived in front of him, clutching tight to the strap of her patchwork bag. Undoubtedly it was full of gurdyroots to ward off gulping plimpies. The lurid owl-shaped purse she always carried peeked out of the top. "I hope you don't mind the yellow," she lazily indicated her dress which was of a garishly bright shade. "It's good luck to wear it at weddings and so I thought it might help today."

"You look lovely," Neville smiled back. She truly did. It was very Luna, therefore very hard on the eye, but she dressed to suit her personality and that's what he loved about it.

Offering her the crook of his elbow as he stood, the two quickly disapparated into a back alley across from the Leaky Cauldron. They shuffled out into the busy street, taking a few minutes to cross the roads. Partly because of the traffic and partly because Luna kept stopping to admire different cloud formations.

Upon reaching the pub, they noticed a shiny 'For Sale' sign hinged above the door. It juxtaposed dankly against the withering oldness; the dark, black exterior walls framing the sign.

"Poor Tom," Luna sighed. "I always liked him."

Tom – the old landlord - had died a few, short weeks ago. Currently the pub was being run by some volunteers, though how long that would last Neville didn't know. Despite the fact it was in a very sought after location, many didn't like how easily accessible it was for muggles and wizards alike.

"Hannah's always wanted to own a little pub," Neville said as they pushed open the door.

"She should," nodded Luna. "She would be good at that."

Passing through, the atmosphere was subdued. Although nobody really knew him all too well, the regulars especially wanted to display courtesy at such a time. Neville smiled politely at a few people he recognised; nodded his head at others.

Eventually they came to the other side, only to find that the heavens had finally released their downpour. Luna stepped out into it, tilting her head towards the sky so that the raindrops hit her face before rolling down her rounded cheeks; a perfect illusion of tears.

In their years since Hogwarts, Neville and Luna's friendship had only grown stronger. He knew many had expected them to fall for each other but it was never like that. Neville only saw the extraordinary girl he'd first met on the Hogwarts Express. At first he'd thought her odd. Then, he allowed himself to open his mind, and he saw her soul: her bright, burning, passionate soul.

Now he was used to her antics and so he didn't question it as she stood in the rain. He only waited patiently for her, shaking his head fondly at the girl who had flourished into a remarkably interesting young woman. He had a question to ask her when the time was right; would it ever be right?

* * *

Upon entering the jewellery shop, Neville's eyes widened significantly. He'd realised that he would have a massive decision ahead of him however he hadn't quite realised the extent of the shop nor had he considered the sheer _vastness_ of choice he had.

Luna, though a confident and strong character, would probably not be of much help other than for feminine input. She made most of her own jewellery so she would be about as useful as a blast-ended skrewt for where to begin searching.

Thankfully a sales assistant immediately came to their assistance. She was tall, stocky; a stud glittered on the left side of her nose. "How can I help you?" Her tone was gentler than he was expecting.

"I – I mean - _we're_ looking for an engagement ring," he ventured. Beside him, Luna dazed off, looking at a selection of expensive looking necklaces. "Except we don't even know where to start…"

"Not a problem," the woman smiled. "I'll walk you through the basic differences and then I'll help you decide."

Before long, Neville found himself still utterly bewildered amidst talks of different bands, types of gold, gems and cuts. Anything – and everything - that a ring could vary in, they were being told about.

"What type of ring do you think you'd like then?" and with horror, they realised she was directing her question at Luna.

"She's not – we –"

"We're just friends, ma'am," Luna clarified whilst tucking a loose curl behind her ear. The woman's eyes were drawn to the dirigible plum earrings she wore and Luna, upon noticing, smiled that peaceful smile of hers and told the woman what they were. "They help people accept the extraordinary, you know."

"I – I'm sure they do," the woman replied, looking slightly confused but acting polite nonetheless. "You must both accept my most sincere apologies. I didn't realise."

Neville waved it away. "It's not a problem." Many had gotten the two mixed before, probably because he and Luna were quite close. But she would never be his Hannah, and for that he was grateful.

"So what is your lucky girl like, then? What type of things does she usually go for?" asked the woman.

"Well, er, she likes a lot of vintage things," offered Neville, "though I can see you obviously don't sell much of that here."

The saleswoman allowed herself a little chuckle before leading them over to a glass cabinet where a few dozen pale gold rings were embedded in emerald satin. "Here's our antiqued collection. They're not actually vintage, I'm afraid, but they certainly look the part."

Neville was almost certain he knew which one Hannah would want and yet he asked Luna all the same. "What do you think?"

She raised a finger slowly and pointed directly at the one Neville had been thinking of, too. He nodded excitedly and the saleswoman smiled.

It was the same pale gold colour as the others with a soft pink diamond set in the middle. Surrounding it were much smaller, white diamonds, racing around the edges in little waves. She would love it.

Once he'd had it packaged and paid for, they left with beaming faces and a loud _thank you_ for the saleswoman, the purchase secure.

And in those few moments, just as the sky cleared for a few sparkling moments, the burning desire that had been building in his stomach erupted in a flurry and he turned to Luna with a crazy expression, breathlessly blurting out, "willyoubemybestwoman?"

"Hmm?" Luna asked. She seemed to have missed it.

"Luna," Neville paused, focused on his breathing again. "Luna, you're my best friend. I love you, almost as much as I love Hannah, and I would like to know if you'd be my best woman at my wedding. I know it's usually a best man but –"

"Oh Neville!" Luna's smile stretched across from one ear to the other. "Of course I will. Don't be silly, I'd love to."

And then it began to rain again.

* * *

_A/N: Ooh, second entry for the hpff house cup! C'mon GRYFFINDOR! I would like to thank randomhpffwriter on the hpfanfictionforums for the plunny for this story – I had such fun writing in. Thanks for reading!_

_xo_


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